The Chronicles of Gan: The Thorn by Daron Fraley

Great King teaches me what to say and do. He loves you,
Pekah. I have no explanation other than that.”
    Tears filled the Gideonite’s eyes. He turned
away to wipe them.
    Jonathan stepped back to stand by Eli, who
seemed pleased. He waited for Pekah to compose himself.
    “Thank you,” Pekah said as he faced
them.
    Jonathan wondered if he wanted to talk more,
but Pekah began walking again. Jonathan patted Eli on the shoulder,
and the two of them followed.
    The morning passed with very little
conversation, each man lost in his own thoughts as they went along.
Jonathan tried not to dwell on memories of his family, but couldn’t
help it. Even the simplest of things—the sound of a bee, a green
sapling leaning next to a fallen log, a round rock displaced from
the stream—reconnected him to nearly forgotten experiences of long
ago. Some of the memories brought back the loneliness he had felt
at the passing of his mother. Others, like the memory of felling
trees with his father for their winter store, strengthened him.
    When they finally left the trail for a rest,
it was mid-day. Jonathan was starting to get hungry. He attempted
to suggest that they eat, but stopped short when he noticed the
strange look on Pekah’s face. Before Jonathan could ask him what he
was thinking, he spoke.
    “I feel as if my eyes have been shut all of
my life, and have just opened . . . it’s as though I’m seeing the
light of day for the very first time. I think my mother tried to
explain all of this to me, but just didn’t know how.” He looked at
Jonathan, then at Eli, and then back again, his grin widening.
“What must I do?”
    “I believe you have been well taught by your
mother. She sounds like a very special woman. Have you thought
about what we discussed?”
    Pekah nodded. “I have. When I remember the
things I learned as a child, everything you have told me makes
perfect sense. I want to make things right. But I need help. I need
His mercy.”
    Jonathan searched Pekah and found his
expression earnest, sincere. “You may make this covenant. It’s your
choice.”
    Eli leaned to peer around Pekah, his red
beard stretched into a grin. “There’s some water!”
    Pekah acknowledged the unspoken suggestion
with an eager nod. “May I?” he said.
    “If you desire,” Jonathan confirmed.
    “I do. Can Eli do this for me, as a priest
of the temple? I assume these things must be done properly.”
    “I can, Pekah.” Eli answered. “But so can
Jonathan. He too is a priest, and on the day he is made king, he
will become the High Priest of Daniel.”
    Pekah did not hesitate to voice his
wish.
    At first uncomfortable with the request
because of his lingering grief, Jonathan inwardly acknowledged that
he was beginning to feel a bond with the Gideonite. “I would be
honored,” he said.
    The three of them again left the trail and
went to the river in search of a suitable pool of water. Finding no
part of the river to be deep enough, they decided to follow it
downstream, in the direction of their journey toward Ain. They
hiked along the riverbank for a while, and it became apparent that
unless they could find a large boulder in the current, or another
joining stream, there would just not be enough water. They
continued. The river followed the general course of the trail, and
although their progress slowed somewhat on account of brush, rocks,
and the occasional fallen tree, they still enjoyed the journey and
felt no reason to rush.
    Their patience soon paid off, and they found
another stream joining the river, coming from the north hills and
dumping into the river at a ninety-degree angle. Here, the water
deepened considerably, and as luck would have it, there were also
some sizable boulders to be found near the juncture. Near one
particular rock, the water swirled, creating a pool which appeared
at least mid-thigh deep. They decided to give it a try. They
removed their weapons, sacks, and other items they did not wish to
get wet, then